The One
by WaterIceDragon
Summary: Gray finds Lucy half-unconscious in the middle of a field during a storm. What could have happened to her? As Gray tries to comfort Lucy and stay by her side, will he finally come to understand his feelings for the girl? GrayLu/GraLu
1. Chapter 1

**Decided to write a non-Pokemon fic! Finally! **

**It's GrayLu/GraLu, though. But, hey, it's my favorite ship right now. 3 **

**Hope you still like it either way! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

**The One**

Lucy's P.O.V.

I kept on running to where ever my feet took me. I didn't care about the down pour of the rain, the darkness of the night, the touch of the ferocious cold wind on my skin. I didn't care about anything. The only thing on my mind was to run. Run from the somber house behind me, run from the pain, run from him, run far away from society. I needed to escape from the world and be by myself.

At some point I reached a clearing far from town. The trees around swayed with such great force. The raindrops landed on my face one after the other, mixing together with the tears that were already rolling down my cheeks. I felt so cold. So cold and helpless. I hugged myself trying to keep warm, but failed. My whole body went numb; my legs felt weak. I started to lose consciousness as I fell to the wet grass. I could hear my name being called from within the trees. It was probably my imagination. No one would be crazy enough to go out into the inclement storm. No one but me, that is. _What has gotten into me? Why am I hurting so much?_ I looked up at the grey sky, the dark clouds, and the thousands of droplets for the last time. _Is it really going to end this way?_

"LUCY!"

The urgency and loudness of the voice assured me that it wasn't in my head anymore. Someone was actually calling my name. But who could it be? I used the last of my energy to keep my eyes open for a little longer. Even with the tears and raindrops obscuring my vision, I was able to glimpse at a pair of dark blue eyes approaching me. Next thing I know, I'm enveloped in warmth, my face buried on the person's hard chest. Unable to move, I laid there wrapped in his arms. It felt so nice, and I wanted it to last forever. At least for now. But as any great thing, it has to end at some point. As soon as the hug ended, I could feel the cold air once again on my body. The sensation of fainting came back as well. Luckily, two hands supported me by the shoulder.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt, right?"

I wanted to say 'yes, I'm fine', but that wasn't the case. Although I wasn't physically hurt, my heart was, my feelings were. I could only shake my head slightly before a hand touched my cheek and my forehead.

"You're burning up. I have to get you back home."

I was lifted up from the ground and carried away from the field. I grabbed the person's shirt and held it as tight as I could. I decided to finally look up and see the face of the person who took the time to look for me, who knew something was wrong. I ended up staring at spiky onyx hair and sharp eyes. I looked down to his neck and saw the necklace containing the sword pendant. All my doubts on who it was vanished.

"G...Gray..." I managed to let out in a soft whisper. Who knew he would come to my aid out of all people.

"Shh. Try to rest for now." He replied while smiling down at me. It was a warm, yet sad smile. I leaned against him even more and closed my eyes, hoping the pain I felt would leave soon. I focused on the sound of the falling rain as well as the steady beating of his heart. For once, I felt at ease even if I was drenched in cold water by now.

Gray's P.O.V.

I never realized something would go wrong when Lucy decided to visit Natsu. It wasn't until Mirajane informed me that Lisanna was with him that I knew something might go wrong. I don't know why, but I just had this bad feeling growing inside me. About 20 minutes had passed when I reached the fire mage's house. By that time, there was already a downpour of rain outside. It didn't bother me. I had been through worse cases while training up in the cold mountaintops along with Ur. It had seemed Lucy didn't even come to his house, at least that's what Natsu had told me. Without even saying goodbye, I left.

The premonition I had felt earlier started getting bigger to the point where I started to frantically search for Lucy. If she had changed her mind, then she would have gone back to the guild since she had promised to help Levy with something after visiting Natsu, and Lucy never breaks a promise. But if that was really the case, then we would have crossed paths along the way. After all, there's only one possible route to take between the guild and his house*. I started getting worried especially with the raging storm now. Lucy was not one to stay out in the cold for long periods of time; everyone knew that.

As I ran, something caught my eye. It was shining like a light among the darkness of the city. I approached it and came to find out it was her celestial keys. I froze. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. I looked around to see where I was. In front of me was the thick forest. _Lucy, please be safe..._

The trees' thick branches and huge leaves shielded me from the rain. I felt like I was in a labyrinth, turning every which way shouting the spirit mage's name without any response in return.

I made it to a clearing where I saw something, or should I say someone, laying in the dead center of it. It had to be Lucy. It just had to be. My heart beat faster than ever as I yelled her name as loud as I could. The only response I got was a slight turn of her head.

I ran as fast as my legs could go and hugged her with all my might. I didn't want to let go for fear of her somehow vanishing if I did. I was filled with relief but knew we couldn't stay out much longer especially after knowing she had a fever. I carried her back to her house, wandering what happened, how she ended there, why she recklessly decided to run into the forest instead of going home. One question after another popped into mind. Confusion filled my head.

I somehow managed to reach her small house with the downpour. As much as I wanted to enter through the window like I always do with Natsu, I decided to use the door for once. It was a small cozy place, big enough to house Lucy at least.

I laid her down on her bed while unintentionally brushing a strand of hair off her face in the process. It felt awkward but right. I stared at her as she slept. Her perfectly combed hair was now in a mess, her face was red from the fever, yet she still looked lovely to me. The only thing that worried me was the sad look on her face she still had on from when I found her. What the hell happened, Lucy?

I surrounded my hand with ice and laid it on top of her forehead and kept it there, trying to ease her burning face**. I looked out the window, but just ended up facing the wall of the building next door.

It was evident the rain wasn't going to let up for a few more hours. The thought of going to Fairy Tail and informing everyone about Lucy crept into my mind, but I didn't want her to be left alone. Not after what happened. There could be a crazed person waiting outside ready to attack for all I know!

_I will stay until the next morning._ I told myself. _I will protect Lucy until then._

So there I was, sitting next to her bedside, my hand placed on her forehead, dreading to fall asleep for the rest of the night...

**Ugh! I didn't know how to end this, so the ending, I admit, is bad. **

**I'm thinking about making another chapter for it, but I won't promise anything.**

**Well, any reviews/comments would be great! I'm trying to improve my writing, and I kind of showed my new style here. Tell me what you think or what you think might happen!**

*** I'm sure there are many possible routes between Natsu's house and the guild, but saying there was only one kind of helped with the story.**

**** I actually saw that in a doujinshi before and found it pretty cute, so I added it. I don't know who made it though. :(**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for not posting it last week, but here it is now! :D **

**I hope you like it… :)**

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**The One: Ch. 2**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I was running... running to someone that was hidden by shadows and darkness. As much as I ran, I still stayed in the same place, never able to reach the person on the other side that was slowly fading away. I tried screaming, but nothing would come out. The only thing that did come out was tears. But why? The darkness seemed to near closer and closer to me.

I woke up with a sudden start; the sun partially lighting up my room. Was that really a dream? It had felt so real, though. I turned my head to the side and saw none other than Gray without his shirt on, his head laid down on my bed. Taken aback, I let out a loud shriek, startling him awake from his slumber. His eyes opened so fast, and before I could even blink, he was already in a fighting stance.

"Who's there?!" I watched him as he looked around every corner of my house. He stopped after a while and gave me a quizzical look. "Why did you scream? There's no one here." Was he being serious?

"You're here!" I let out.

"Obviously. I wasn't going to leave you alone after what happened," he explained. "I thought your attacker from the day before finally decided to show himself."

"Attacker? And what do you mean 'after what happened'?" I was confused. All I remember from yesterday was a horrible headache and a fever that was now gone.

"You really don't remember, do you?" I slowly shook my head as he let out a sigh. It felt like he was going to explain everything to me until Loke, or should I say Leo, came out of the spirit world.

"Oh, Lucy! I'm so glad you're okay," He hugged me tightly; air unable to reach my lungs. "I thought something bad had happened to you!"

"Lo...Loke, I... can't... breathe..." I managed to let out a gasp. I might have been a goner if it wasn't for Gray who pulled him off of me. Lately, he's been saving my life in more ways than I could imagine like that one time when he rescued me from a huge bear that was chasing me for stealing its food on our last mission. In my defense, I, along with the others, hadn't eaten for two days, so I was pretty desperate.

As I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, I felt the room go quite. Too quiet for that matter. I opened my eyes to only be met with an empty room. I was surrounded in silence by myself. "Ahh, peace and quiet at last! But where did they go?"

I shrugged it off. As long as they weren't in my bathroom where I will be taking a bath, I didn't care. Something still felt odd, out of place. That's when I remembered Natsu; he should've barged into my room by now. Strange? Yes. Was I entirely troubled by this? No. What did trouble me, though, was that I couldn't remember anything that had happened only the day before. From what Gray had said, I could be in danger right now. I tried to not let that thought get the better of me and calmed down, hoping my memory will come back to me naturally. I just hope it will.

**Gray's P.O.V.**

A part of me felt anger towards that stellar spirit the moment he came out. It seemed to grow even more the second he hugged Lucy and acted worried. The fact that he was basically suffocating her was beside the point. I needed to talk to him right away. After pulling him off of Lucy, I dragged him outside where we were met with a strong gust of cold air. Everything seemed quiet outside, no one was around. But who would want to go out after that terrible storm yesterday?

Meanwhile, Loke, raising an eyebrow at me, was confused at what was going on. It just irritated me even more.

"What's wrong? I was in the middle of a reunion with my mage."

"_Your_ mage? Last time I checked, she belonged to no one!" I spat at him which only caused him to be even more confused than before.

"Calm down. Why are you so worked up for?" He placed a hand on my shoulder as I flinched from the sudden touch. I quickly pushed his hand away disgusted. "What's wr—"

"What's wrong is that you didn't save Lucy yesterday when she was in danger! Aren't you her stellar spirit? Aren't you supposed to help her when she's in trouble?" The thought itself was what angered me so much. How can a friend not help another friend when they're in need? I thought Loke was better than that.

"Is that it? If so, I can tell you why I did what I did, or what I didn't do, I should say."

He said it so nonchalantly it bugged me, but I would love to hear his excuse. "Go ahead, then."

Loke sighed and turned around, his back facing me. "I didn't help her and neither did the other spirits because we knew you were coming to save her."

"What if I had come too late, huh? What would have happened then?" Right after I said that, I was abruptly pushed to the wall of a house. Loke held my shoulders so tight it felt as if blood had stopped circulating to my arms and fingers. I looked at him, orange hair covering his eyes. He spoke in such a low voice as if he was trying to tell me a forbidden secret, but at the same time, I swear I could hear a slight hint of malice in his voice.

"Don't take me for a fool, Gray. I knew you were going to arrive on time. If for some reason I got the slightest notion that you would come too late, I would have never even trusted you with," My body was pushed farther into the wall. "The life of my owner, my mage!" I could feel his hot breath on my face, and his eyes stared intensely at me.

After a few seconds, Loke finally let go and started dusting himself off as if he had just taken part in a petty fight. I had to roll my shoulders back and massage them with my hands so it wouldn't hurt as much. I underestimated his strength, after all. His words, though, left me with no counter attacks. No reply. Somewhat speechless, but I should've known he truly did care for Lucy. Maybe he even seriously loved her... okay, maybe I shouldn't take it that far.

I saw him approach me, this time with a smirk that he always puts on before using a pick-up line on a girl. And dare I say, it creeped me out, made me feel uncomfortable. It just made everything awkward for me from there.

"Besides," he began, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Lucy needs a hero, a prince, in her life who isn't always a spirit, if you know what I mean." With that being said, he winked and gave me a thumbs up before disappearing.

I was left stunned where I stood. "A hero? What the hell does he mean by that?" After thinking about it for a while and getting nothing, I decided to let it go. It was probably another one of his stupid sayings.

I entered Lucy's house once again to not find her in her room. She was probably taking a bath, and for a second I felt like actually going in there to make sure. Maybe she's right when she calls me a pervert. To pass the time while she's in the bathroom, I headed to her desk and grabbed her transcript. I picked up from where I left off a couple months ago. I just needed to know what happened to Iris. Who knew Lucy was so good at writing cliffhangers?

**Lucy's P.O.V.**

I stepped out of the bathtub while wrapping a towel around my body. I had heard the door open and close, so it was no surprise seeing Gray again sitting at my desk. It took me a second to realize that he was reading my transcript. I had promised Levy that she would be the first to read it. He turned his face towards me while putting the papers down. A sigh of relieve escaped my lips.

"Finally! You sure took your time," he yawned. "We have to head to the guild right away. Everyone is probably wondering where we are. So hurry up and change."

The guild had completely escaped my mind. "You're right." I saw that he was still in my house. I started shooting death glares at him, hoping he would get the message to leave.

"What? Hurry up and change already. We're already late." Gray said almost innocently. I could feel my left eye begin to twitch.

"GET OUT, FIRST, YOU PERVERT!" I actually had to push him out the door so he could leave. Sometimes, I wonder why I even hang out with him.

I changed into a light red shirt and put on a jacket over it. Ironically, I put on a floral patterned skirt when it was below 50 degrees outside. I would mostly be inside a building, so it really didn't matter, right?

As I stepped out the door, I saw Gray sitting near the water. I actually found it pretty sweet that he waited for me all along. I slowly approached and tapped his shoulder. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." He stood up, and we walked to the guild together silently. We didn't talk, but I didn't mind the silence. It actually allowed me to hear the chirping of the birds, the rustling of the leaves, the rush of moving water, and the sound of air passing by us. The sun was finally fully up and shining brightly in the sky, showering everyone with golden kisses and warmth. Magnolia can be such a peaceful and beautiful place at times. I glanced at Gray, wondering what he could be thinking about that made him look so tense. Don't tell me he's still thinking about whatever had happened yesterday.

Before long, we had arrived at Fairy Tail. Gray politely opened the door for me, which was strange, but nice. All the sounds I had heard before entering vanished as it was replaced by the sounds of laughter, horrible singing, fighting, drunk talking, and everything else imaginable that can happen in this guild. It's weird how I call this place my true home and everyone here my true family.

"Oy, Lucy! You're pretty late." That voice had to belong to the energized fire mage, Natsu. But the second I looked at him, feelings and memories of pain and distress filled my mind, attacking my heart first. I couldn't move as if I were paralyzed. My equilibrium was thrown off balance while my legs went weak. I could no longer support the weight of my own body as I fell backwards.

_I remember... I remember what happened._

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**So Lucy finally remembers! But why does it happen when she sees Natsu? Will Gray finally understand what Loke told him? It will all/partially be revealed in the next chapter, so stick around!**

**Tell me what you think. Whether it's big or small, they're all appreciated! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry it's so late! I actually had the entire chapter written last November, but I didn't know how to end it until now. D:**

**Anyways, here it is, and I hope you like it~**

**The One Ch. 3**

**Gray's P.O.V.**

I cursed at myself as I caught Lucy right before she hit the ground. She was probably still sick from yesterday, yet I still allowed her to go into the cold with that light jacket and miniskirt on. Gah! It annoyed me how whenever I try to help her, I make it even worse sometimes. I carried her unconscious body bridal style towards the nearest couch and laid her down slowly. She felt a lot lighter than before, I noticed. It was probably because she didn't have any dinner or breakfast.

By now, the entire guild was buzzing with commotion, talking about what could have happened to Lucy. Of course, all eyes turned to me since I was the last person to be seen with her. They were eyeing me suspiciously as if I were some type of criminal in disguise. Letting out a long sigh, I told them everything, from where I found her on the field to walking with her to the guild. I told them everything except for my conversation with Loke. What was said between us was just for us two to know and no one else.

After I was done explaining, Natsu was quite quick to blame me for the entire incident that happened just a moment ago, saying how careless I was to let Lucy walk in the sheer cold. I felt like pounding that fire mage to ashes especially after he tried to come at me with a fire fist. _Gray, keep calm,_ I told myself. _This is no time to start a fight. _That's why I was so glad to see Erza appear and give Natsu a death glare. His personality did a 180 turn as he now acted like his exceed friend, Happy.

I brushed my fingers through my hair. There was just something that wasn't making sense. How can someone go from being completely fine one second to automatically collapsing the next? It almost seemed as if someone had turned an off switch. And I don't know if this was just a coincidence, but it was very strange how she just lost it the second Natsu appeared. Wasn't she supposed to go to his house yesterday instead of being in that field? Things weren't quite adding up, but I got this feeling that maybe, just maybe, Natsu was somehow, someway involved.

I shook my head, bringing myself back to reality, when Levy yelled for everyone to be quiet. Very ironic if you ask me.

"Lucy's about to wake up!" She declared, holding her hands up. Everyone held in their breath and silence permeated the entire guild. There was no talking, no singing, no fighting. Truly a rare moment to be in.

At the sight of her opening eyes, everyone released the air that they had been holding in. I was glad she finally awoke, not only because it meant she was okay again, but for other reasons. I had questions, and Lucy had to answer to them.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

The first thing that reached my ears was the cheer of the guild members. Confused at what was going on, I tried sitting up only to be tackled down with a hug from Levy. The short blunnette kept chanting "I'm so glad you're alright" over and over into my ear. I was going to ask her what she meant by that until I remembered that I had passed out just earlier. For how long was I out exactly?

"Lucy, what happened back there?" Mirajanne asked as she made her way to where I currently was.

Hmm, the reason for why I fainted was a good question. The reason... the reason was because of... Natsu. The reason to why my heart felt like it stopped beating, the reason to why I felt my whole world spin and turn upside down, the reason to why I felt like I was falling into a bottomless pit without anything to grab on was all because of that one boy, Natsu. But I couldn't possibly, in my right mind, tell them that, especially since that said boy was in the room wondering the same thing. I had to come up with an excuse. "I, uh, I'm... still feeling, uh, a little sick from yesterday? Yeah, that's probably why." I swear I was sweating like crazy while waiting for their response. Please, oh please, believe it.

"I knew it! It really _was_ your entire fault, Gray!" Natsu screamed as he finally appeared in my field of vision. This time, though, I was prepared. I couldn't just change the way I acted around him all of a sudden. I had to fight every urge to get away and pretend everything was completely fine.

"Don't try to hit me, stupid!" Gray yelled as he stripped and dodged a fire breath. After that, one thing happened after the other.

"Gray-sama! Juvia will always believe in you."

"Hey, both of you, stop fighting this minute!"

"Ahh! Yes, ma'am!"

"Looks like Erza won."

"Happy, stop talking as well."

"Aye!"

"I think a song is appropriate to play for Lucy's awakening. Da do di dum!"

"Mirajanne, can you pass me that barrel of beer?"

My heartbeat returned to normal as it seemed they believed what I had said. I laughed at the scene before me, thinking that maybe what I had felt only minutes or maybe hours before would go away naturally. But first, I needed to take a break, or just get away for a while especially from that fire mage. Maybe I could go do a job on some faraway place.

As everything started to die down slowly, I looked towards the job board. No one seemed to be up there except for Nab who's always up there and Gray. I decided that right now would be the best time to pick a job before all the good ones are taken. I was so close to the board when suddenly Natsu appeared in front of me, holding a paper towards my face. It was a request for retrieving a stolen ancient golden amulet with a pay of 20,000 jewels. It sounded like a perfect job for me; the only bad thing to it was that Natsu had already picked it.

"So, what do you say? Let's go!" Natsu exclaimed while jumping and about to grab my hand. I stepped back in time.

"I'm sorry," I answered over a whisper. My face was burning, and I couldn't even look him in the eye.

"What do you mean 'I'm sorry'?" I could tell he was hurt, but I don't understand why he should be. Couldn't he just ask someone else like Wendy, Romeo, or even Lisanna?

"Uh, you see, I kind of...,uh," I looked around the room, looking for another excuse until my eyes saw Gray pick up a job request. Aha! "promised Gray I would accompany him on his mission." I let out a nervous laugh as I quickly ran to the ice mage's side.

"Lucy?" Gray gave me a weird look. I shot him an apologetic smile. Why couldn't I have just said I wanted to do a job myself? That wasn't a lie after all. No turning back, I guess.

"Oh, I see. I don't get why you would want to go with him though." He shrugged as Happy made his way to where we were.

"She llllliiiiikes him." That stupid, flying cat, always saying stuff like that! Why did it have to intervene?

"Well whatever the reason, a promise is a promise." Natsu said as he eyed me suspiciously before leaving. I'm just glad he didn't start a whole commotion.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I came face to face with the ice mage who was tapping one foot on the ground and raising an eyebrow. I guess I had some explaining to do.

"Well?" He asked.

I laughed nervously as I tried coming up with another lie yet again. "Funny story, actually. Uh, you, uhm... picked the job I wanted to pick!"

"So you're saying that _you_ out of all people wanted to go to the top of a mountain and fight off 20 snow beasts that are terrorizing a nearby town? I thought you didn't like cold places." He eyed me closely, as if trying to see under my disguise.

"Whaaat? Who ever said I didn't like the cold? I. Personally. Love. It." I was trying to hold back the urge of screaming, since I truly did dislike anything that's cold, except for maybe ice cream, but that's different.

"Whatever the case, I'll let you come. I need some answers from you anyways. Pack what you need since we're leaving as soon as possible."

_Answers? About what?_ I shrugged it off for now and nodded my head in agreement. I definitely have to pack some warm clothes.

**Gray's P.O.V.**

Well, at least now I'll be able to figure out what's really-

"Gray-samaaaa!" Before I knew it, I was almost being tackled down by none other than the noisy Juvia. "Can Juvia accompany Gray-sama as well?"

I tried regaining my posture, but she still held on to my arm, rather tightly for that matter. "I- I'm sorry, Juvia. It's bad enough having to split the money in two ways let alone three."

That's when she finally let go of me and immediately sat in a dark corner of the guild. "Gray-sama doesn't want Juvia. He wants Lucy. Lucy. Love rival. Lucy. Love rival. Lucy. Love rival."

I could see a dark mist surrounding her out of nowhere; it was actually kind of creepy. I tried focusing on the task at hand. I need to know what has happened to Lucy in order to help her. After all, I am one of her best friends.

**I'm actually kind of glad on how this turned out. I don't know why, but I just am. **

**Next chapter will contain a lot more GrayLu moments since it will be the start of their journey together. **

**Don't forget to review, comment on what you liked, write any helpful criticism. Anything helps. :)**


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